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Homefront is an exercise at in-game advertising

Posted: 11 Jun 2010 06:24 AM PDT


Look at that pic. Lumber Liquidators, eh? That’s some major in-game advertising right there and there’s more. In fact, Lumber Liquidators is in four of the eight pics Joystiq featured in their preview post making me think that something big goes down in the shadow of a huge ad. I’m all about keeping the retail price of games down, but can we find a little more tactful way to display advertisements?

Morpho Smart Select: New image software selects best shots automatically

Posted: 11 Jun 2010 06:01 AM PDT

Japan-based Morpho announced [JP, PDF] “Morpho Smart Select” today, a piece of software that makes it possible to pick the best shot out of a set of pictures taken with a digital camera. Morpho Smart Select makes the decision based on a number of different factors, including color contrast, position of the object or person in the image, the smile of a person and focus.

The “quality of a smile of a person” is determined by analyzing the angles of the corners of the person’s eyes and mouth. The decision is based on data the company collected from surveys conducted with real persons (who chose the best shots out of a given set of pictures) and fed back into the software.

Morpho Smart Select also makes it possible to fine-tune the decision by letting users select one of seven evaluation modes, for example “pet mode” or “portrait mode”. Its maker says the software stands out because it doesn’t require much processing power and is quick: according to Morpho, cameras built into mobile phones (and have the software installed), for example, need just 100ms to pick the best shot.

In fact, the company already closed some deals with Japanese handset makers, with several cell phones coming with Morpho Smart Select pre-installed to go on sale in summer this year.

World-famous industrialist and philanthropist turned into an inflatable doll, stuck into a river

Posted: 11 Jun 2010 05:56 AM PDT

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the Allegheny, Andrew Carnegie, industrialist and founder of Carnegie Mellon (my alma mater) goes and screws it all up. This giant head is currently floating amid the feces and detritus ensconced in that mighty river and was created by artist Stephen Antonson. He designed the head by taking old pictures along with images of a 3D bust of Carnegie to a fabricator who then painstakingly built up the noggin.

The last step was painting the inflatable with a special water-based paint and then sealing it with a clear coat. The piece was deflated, trucked to Pittsburgh from Cleveland, inflated at the river's edge and towed out onto the river by a small boat. It's held in place by four anchors. (This is the tricky part, because the river currents and wind speed are so unpredictable.) To keep the inflatable inflated, a generator set into a small boat floating behind the head runs constantly. The original design called for the generator to be hidden inside the head, but we learned the hard way that this was untenable because its heat began to melt the vinyl. I chalk that up to the making of the whole thing at mach speed—it was four weeks from start to finish and a piece like this usually requires eight!"

The piece was part of the Three Rivers Arts Festival. If someone from CMU’s EE department had made it, Carnegie would have had lasers for eyes.

via WSJ

Lou, vacuum.

The Garmin Astro DC 40 uses GPS to track your little Astro

Posted: 11 Jun 2010 05:14 AM PDT

Sportsmen talked and Garmin listened. The latest version of Garmin’s GPS-enabled dog collar brings much-needed improvements to the design and capabilities. No longer will dogs have to wear two collars as the GPS receiver is now a small puck on durable one-inch orange polyurethane coated strap. But the concept is still the same. A handheld Garmin GPS receiver can track up to 10 of these collar’s movement and location with either five, ten, 30, or 120 second increments. The new collar works with the older systems and can also be purchased as part of the Astro GPS Dog Tracking system that includes the handheld receiver.

Garmin® Unleashes Next-Generation Astro® GPS Dog Tracking Collar

OLATHE, Kan.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, announced today the DC™ 40 tracking collar, improving upon the very popular Astro GPS Dog Tracking System.

"The new collar is more convenient and more durable than ever. Whether purchasing an Astro for the first time or upgrading from an older model, sporting dog owners will love the refinements that are packed into the new DC 40."
The new DC 40 is mounted on a durable one-inch orange polyurethane coated collar strap, and the small black GPS puck that used to ride on the top of the collar is now integrated into the unit's main housing. As a result, owners can combine the DC 40 with most standard e-collar receivers – eliminating the need to put two separate collars on a dog. The charging connection has been completely redesigned as well, with the charger clamping around a housing that has no recessed areas for mud to accumulate. Even the LED charging light on the collar has been reconfigured to flash while charging, and glow solid when fully charged.

"The refinements that are found in the new DC 40 are the result of feedback from hunters and trainers," said Dan Bartel, Garmin's vice president of worldwide sales. "The new collar is more convenient and more durable than ever. Whether purchasing an Astro for the first time or upgrading from an older model, sporting dog owners will love the refinements that are packed into the new DC 40."

Another new feature of the DC 40 is Collar Lock – an option that lets users create a four-digit PIN number that helps prevent others from seeing their dog's whereabouts. That's a feature that field trial judges will find useful to ensure that an Astro is used only as a recovery tool when a dog in competition becomes lost.

Used in conjunction with the Astro 220 receiver, the system pinpoints exactly where your dog is and what he's doing – running, pointing, or treeing – even in dense cover, up to seven miles away, depending on terrain.

The Astro GPS Dog Tracking System requires very little configuration straight out of the box, and is extremely simple to use. Once the transmitter and receiver acquire a GPS signal, the receiver automatically lets users know the location of their dog. There are no subscriptions or setup fees required to use the device.

Astro can track up to 10 dogs per receiver at once, and the collar gives location updates every five, 10, 30 or 120 seconds (user selectable). Battery life is 17-48 hours (based on update rate) on the rechargeable DC 40 collar and 24 hours on the Astro 220 receiver, which is powered by two AA batteries. Both the DC 40 collar and the Astro 220 receiver are waterproof.

The Astro also has a map page to illustrate where a dog is and where it has been – in relation to the hunter – and allows hunters to determine if they have covered nearby ground. Garmin's unique Covey Counter™ lets hunters mark the precise location, time of day, and elevation where they encountered their quarry – and users can easily note the number of birds flushed and how many were taken.

The Astro has a microSD card slot that allows users to insert optional pre-programmed topo maps or road maps, which can be invaluable in an unfamiliar area. Highly-detailed 24K topo maps give hunters an idea of the most productive areas to hunt, while road maps feature the same basic functions as an automotive GPS navigation unit – even in rural areas. The optional road map data can also give turn-by-turn directions to motels, gas stations, restaurants, and even veterinarians.

The new DC 40 collar is included as part of the Astro GPS Dog Tracking system. For those wishing to upgrade from a previous generation of collar, the DC 40 can be purchased separately. Visit www.garmin.com for more information and pricing.

The StarCraft II TV Commercial

Posted: 11 Jun 2010 04:36 AM PDT

Yup, this TV spot did its job. I want StarCraft II even more now. [via evilavatar]

Murata develops world’s first waterproof, ultra-thin piezoelectric speakers

Posted: 11 Jun 2010 02:21 AM PDT

Kyoto-based Murata has developed the world’s first piezoelectric speaker that not only is waterproof but also ultra-thin (0.9mm). The devices are meant to be mainly used with mobile phones, which makes sense, given that almost 25% of the 50 latest cell phones released (on the Japanese market, at least) are actually waterproof.

Needless to say, Murata IPX7-compliant speakers, dubbed VSLBG1914E1400-T0, can be used for other mobile devices as well – for example, cameras, portable music players or mobile TVs. Murata says they boosted sound quality by doing away with conventional waterproof sheets that cover sound output holes in similar products.

The company also says not using those sheets helps pushing production costs down, too. Buyers can already order samples for $2.73 each, with Murata planning to churn out one million units monthly from now on.

Report: Fujitsu and Toshiba to merge cell phone operations

Posted: 11 Jun 2010 12:21 AM PDT

Big news from the cell phone industry today: Two of Japan's top handset makers, namely Fujitsu and Toshiba, are in talks to merge their cell phone operations within this year. According to the Nikkei ("Japan's Wall Street Journal" and usually a reliable source), negotiations already reached the "final stage". The joint venture, if it happens, will create Japan's second largest cell phone maker (with a combined 18.7% domestic market share), following Sharp (26.1%). Fujitsu (the current No. 3 among Japan's handset makers with over 5 million handsets shipped in 2009) is expected to become the main stakeholder in the joint venture. Toshiba is the eighth biggest (1.28 million units). Read the rest on MobileCrunch.


Time gives the iPad a second go

Posted: 10 Jun 2010 03:20 PM PDT

Steve Jobs gave us a little sneak peak at Time’s upcoming iPad app during the iPhone 4 keynote. Here’s a full video demo. It’s the future — and very ambitious one at that. Time definitely improved on the current iPad app. Too bad it’s still $5 an “issue.” [All Things Digital via Gizmodo]

Of course Men in Black III will be in 3D

Posted: 10 Jun 2010 01:15 PM PDT

and Will Smith says he is going to make it look goooood. I actually believe him for some strange reason.

HP to buy HyperSpace and HyperCore assets from Phoenix

Posted: 10 Jun 2010 12:49 PM PDT


Phoenix technologies, makers of computer BIOS, have a number of other assets that I never knew about: something called HyperSpace, which is a minimalist instant-on Linux OS for notebooks, and something called “HyperCore” – a complimentary hypervisor for HyperSpace that allows it to run some Windows services. Both of those products will now be owned by HP, according to Infoworld. Is this a move to bolster the value and utility of HP’s recent purchase of Palm’s WebOS?

Rock Band 3 will teach you how to play a 25-key keyboard

Posted: 10 Jun 2010 12:24 PM PDT

Rock Band 3 is going to teach you something actually useful: playing-for-real.

Harmonix is giving gamers a 25-key midi keyboard to use with the new Rock Band 3. It takes gaming to a new level. You can learn real songs, and play quite well, right from you TV. If this works it could modernize the way people learn piano. Project director Daniel Sussman said they wanted to recapture the fun "that really started this whole phenomenon in the first place." I'm not much of a gamer, but I am keen on learning the keyboard, so this is perfect for me. Now the question is..was this the original goal of the original Guitar Hero?

83 new songs are to be released with the new version. Also due for the release are two new guitars that will be "advanced." You better get practicing if you plan to beat the neighborhood family of super-Rock-Band-players.

[via Gizmodo]

The Teknines Nine Millimeter Earphones are only for the hardcore

Posted: 10 Jun 2010 11:48 AM PDT


Just a pair of earbuds housed in 18K gold 9mm bullet casings etched with an eagle for your enjoyment. That’s all. Good luck convincing an overworked TSA agent that you’re not a terrorist and your $250 earbuds will not harm anyone. [teknines via Luxist]

The Guardian case from M-Edge is a life jacket for the Kindle

Posted: 10 Jun 2010 11:30 AM PDT

Whenever I head to the community pool, I usually take a book to read. It works well to hide my wandering eyes, but also gives me something to look at when I would otherwise be 'distracted'. Recently I have seen a few Kindles floating around at the pool, great idea, but I couldn't see taking that expensive device any further than my front porch.

That's the same thing M-Edge thought when creating the Guardian case for the Amazon Kindle. This case coming in at $80, is not cheap, but it's a waterproof case for your Kindle and it's going to protect something that costs $260. Another thing that's cool about it is that it floats. Internal air chambers keep your Kindle bobbing in case aggressive play begins.

Wired makes a note that you can't get access to the power button, so if you have the device auto-turnoff, you'll have to open the case to turn it back on. Nonetheless, if you consider yourself a rough user of the kindle then maybe you need to pick one up.

[via Gizmodo]

WickedLasers Spyder III Pro Arctic Laser burns all comers

Posted: 10 Jun 2010 11:01 AM PDT

Holy wow. I saw this thing this morning but I forgot about it. Then Kyle at Giz pointed out that this laser – made from diodes out of a Casio slim projector – costs only $200 and can burn almost anything. Now I’m interested.

We’ve done reviews of WickedLaser products in the past but this looks like a doozy. While something like the Photonic Disruptor is pretty exciting, this laser blasts out one full Watt and is 4000% brighter than WL’s other burners.

Warning: Extremely dangerous is an understatement to the power of 1W of laser power. It will blind permanently and instantly and set fire quickly to skin and other body parts, use with extreme caution and only when using the included eye protection. Customers will be required to completely read and agree to our Class IV Laser Hazard Acknowledgment Form.

They made it by pulling the diode out of a Casio Slim Green projector. You can read about how they did it here if you’re so inclined. Scary stuff.

Product Page

How to make the most of the World Cup: Apps, Web sites, podcasts and more!

Posted: 10 Jun 2010 11:00 AM PDT

Let’s get down to business. The World Cup begins tomorrow, June 11, 2010. The tournament kicks off with hosts South Africa against Mexico at 9:30am ET/6:30am PT on ESPN in the U.S. (International readers: you’ll have to consult your local listings.) Consider this post a general how-to on making the most of the tournament. Mobile Apps, helpful Web sites, podcasts, etc. Woo~!

TV
This section only covers the U.S. ESPN/ABC has the rights to the World Cup, and all of the matches will air on the ESPN cable channels and on the ABC network. The first game is South Africa v. Mexico at 9:30am ET on ESPN. It’s in HD, of course, but also in 3D if you have access to ESPN 3D. I’m not rich and I don’t have a 3D TV so whatever. All the games are spread across all of the ESPN/ABC networks, so be sure to check either your digital cable/satellite program guide or ESPN’s Web site. The big game this weekend, England v. USA, is at 1:30pm ET on ABC. Well, at least that’s when coverage starts.

Helpful Web sites
There’s an extraordinary number of Web sites devoted to World Cup coverage. The ones I will be checking every two seconds include The BBC (UK), The Guardian (UK), The Times (UK), Marca (Spain), AS (Spain), SPORT (Spain), El Mundo Deportivo (Spain), A Bola (Portugal), Record (Portugal), O Jogo (Portugal), La Gazzetta Dello Sport (Italy), Corriere Dello Sport (Italy), O Globo (Brazil), Clarín (Argentina), France Football (France) ESPN (USA), and Goal.com (USA). Another cool site? Zonal Marking. It discusses tactics and whatnot in incredible detail. Highly recommended for the soccer wonk in your life.

Two ProTips: Try Roja Directa and Iraq Goals. If you’re stuck in the office when a big game is going on, go to either of those sites and you’ll find links to live-streams of all the games. Are these sites legal? I don’t know and I don’t care, and neither should you.

As far as “fantasy” World Cup goes, I’m using ESPN’s deal. Both the simple brackets and the full-on fantasy game. I’m basically doing them to play along with Ron and Fez on Sirius XM. I’ve never done “fantasy” sports before and I don’t plan to make it a habit. It seriously took a good 45 minutes picking my team.

Mobile Apps
Just like there’s a number of Web sites out there, there’s a whole hell of a lot of Apps out there for your phone. Seeing as though I’ll be at E3 next week I will be checking my phone every 23 seconds.

Goal.com’s App [iTunes link, but also available for Android]. It’s basically all of Goal.com (which I believe is the largest soccer site out there) on your phone. Live scores, post-game reports, etc. Totally free, so go crazy. This is the one I’ll be using at E3, I imagine.

NYC Soccer Game Finder. This App [iTunes link] points New Yorkers in the direction of places (bars and the like) that are showing the games. It’s for the iPhone and iPod touch (though I imagine it’s a bit more practical for the iPhone, so you can walk around the city and still be able to look stuff up). And not for nothing, but Nevada Smiths is still the premiere bar in New York to watch the sport. It’ll probably be crowded so get their early if you plan on going. Also: make sure you are, in fact, 21 or older. It’s not like the old days (World Cup 2006) when I could waltz in at noon and buy Stella after Stella at the ripe old age of 19/20. The Man now cards for real, so fair warning.

I only picked out two here because, you know, I don’t have all day to list 8 million Apps. Just search “world cup” on the App Store and the Android Market and you should be cool. I looked at a bunch of them are they’re all sorta the same: live scores and the like.

Radio/Podcasts
Sirius XM has all the games of the World Cup live. I will also be using the Android App during the E3 video game convention in Los Angeles next week to listen to the games live. Ron and Fez (11am-3pm, weekdays) are also all over the World Cup, so do yourself a favor and tune in. I will~! (Also: Join their World Cup bracket.)

The Guardian has a podcast, World Cup Daily, that will absolutely be worth downloading. It’s free.

World Football Daily is another great podcast that will be bringing the thunder during the tournament. It’s not free, but it’s only $5 per month: just buy one less fancy drink at Starbucks this month and you’ll be all set.

Conclusion

I am freaking out. It’s finally here! AAAHHH~!

Oh, also: if you know of any other sites or whatever feel free to drop a line down below.


Review and contest: Vizit, the first two-way, fully interactive digital photo frame

Posted: 10 Jun 2010 10:30 AM PDT


We’ve reviewed a number of digital picture frames here at CrunchGear, and they each strive to fit a slightly different niche. Isabella’s new Vizit Frame brings some interesting new features to this crowded space. It sports a gorgeous 10.4″ touchscreen, 3G wireless connectivity, and the ability to send pictures from the frame to someone’s email address. It’s probably the best digital picture frame I’ve reviewed yet, but still has a couple rough spots.

Features:

  • 800×600 10.4″ LED backlit LCD touchscreen display
  • weighs only 1.7 lbs.
  • USB and microSD card slot
  • GSM/GPRS quad-band connectivity
  • $279.99

Pros:

  • easy-to-use carousel menu system makes touchscreen operation super convenient
  • bright display with comfortable viewing angles
  • small form factor with built-in stand makes placement easy

Cons:

  • requires monthly or annual VizitMe plan to use cellular connectivity
  • touchscreen is not quite sensitive enough
  • carousel menu is slow to respond

The Vizit frame is lightweight, thin, and feels well constructed. I’m really impressed by how svelte it is in comparison to other digital frames I’ve reviewed. The touchscreen interface means there’s no remote control to lose, nor any buttons on the frame itself, which makes this a really great choice for placing in your living room. The touchscreen plus 3G cellular connectivity makes this a great choice to stick out at Grandma’s house, since Grandma probably doesn’t have a wireless router hooked up yet.

The on-screen controls are easy to use, but you need to really press on the screen to make things happen. This isn’t an iPhone with a super sensitive display. A number of times I found myself pressing a little harder than I was comfortable with to make the menu pop up. Once the menu does pop up, you need to press again to “spin” the carousel menu to the next option. The transition effects as the menu moves to the next item is unnecessarily slow. It might be okay for Grandma, but for the neophile readers of CrunchGear, most of them will find it laboriously unresponsive.

The Vizit frame works just fine as a stand-alone frame, thanks to the USB and microSD ports. Although, interestingly, photos on USB or microSD are not automatically scaled to fit the screen. Odd, that. If you really want to take advantage of all the frame’s features you’ll need to subscribe to a service plan for wireless access. Your choices are $6/month with a limit of 100 photos per month, or $80/year with an annual limit of 1,450 photos. Your plan gives you an account on www.vizitme.com which connects to your frame. You get an email address for your frame, and a basic address book at vizitme.com: anyone you add to your address book can send photos to your frame via email or MMS.

Photos sent to your frame’s email address are stored in their original resolution at vizitme.com, scaled appropriately and sent to your frame for display. From the frame, you can use the carousel menu to send one of several replies (configurable at vizitme.com) to the person who sent you the photo. The default replies are generic responses like “Thanks!” and “Great photo!”. Also from the frame’s carousel menu, you can forward a picture to someone else in your address book. The forwarded image is the original resolution stored at VizitMe.com, so no fidelity is lost. I can’t think of too many situations where this would be useful, but it’s available to those who want it. And finally, you can subscribe to RSS feeds, Photobucket accounts, etc.

At almost $300, this is one of the more expensive picture frames on the market. Add in the monthly or yearly subscription for wireless access and the price climbs even higher. There’s no doubt in my mind, though, that there are a number of great uses for this frame.

Product page: Vizit: See. Touch. Feel.

The folks at Isabella would like a lucky CrunchGear reader to have a Vizit frame. Alas, the winner will only get the frame: a wireless subscription is not included in this contest. You can use the USB or microSD slots to load up photos, or you can purchase a wireless subscription on your own.

To enter, please leave a comment telling us about who you plan to gift this frame to. That’s right: the winner is expected to give the frame to someone else. Whether that’s grandma in another state, or your kid going off to college, or maybe just your spouse because you travel so much, the intent here is to give the Vizit frame to someone else! Tell who that person is, and preferably a little about how the Vizit frame will be used by them, and we’ll pick a winner Monday morning.

As usual, this contest is unfortunately only open to people with a U.S. mailing address.

Hollywood’s guide to hacking a computer

Posted: 10 Jun 2010 10:00 AM PDT

Shock: Students using mobile phones to cheat

Posted: 10 Jun 2010 09:00 AM PDT

There was a report on the local news here yesterday about students using their mobile phones to cheat in school. My first reaction was, yeah, duh. Kids have been cheating in school since the beginning of time. The tools they use to cheat isn't all that interesting. Whether it's writing answers on the palm of their hand, filling a graphic calculator with programs to automatically perform physics equations, using Google on their iPhone to check Wikipedia, or simply whispering to the kid behind them, students cheat. Not exactly breaking news there.


Review: T-Mobile MyTouch 3G Slide

Posted: 10 Jun 2010 08:25 AM PDT

Short Version: A long, long time ago, I can still remember, how the MyTouch 3G's touchscreen used to make me cry. And I knew that if they had their chance, that T-Mobile could add a keyboard, and maybe we'd be happy for a while. And how May/June made me shiver because T-Mobile has delivered - a MyTouch with a keyboard as useful as a Sidekick's.


Videos: Soccer-playing robot

Posted: 10 Jun 2010 08:21 AM PDT

Building robots capable of playing soccer – that’s apparently very hard to pull off, as shown several times in the past. But this new robot, the RoboErectus Jr., is different. Developed at the Robotics Center of Singapore Polytechnic, he looks like he’s a little small, but his moves are pretty cool.

This video shows him kicking a ball:

Here’s RoboErectus Jr. jumping:

This video, in which the robot shows a throw-in, is probably the most spectacular:

After scoring a goal, RoboErectus Jr. can wave and bow to the audience, too:

Via Plastic Pals
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